Woman whose boyfriend murdered her son now charged with perjury, child abuse

KENT COUNTY, MI -- A 29-year-old woman whose boyfriend murdered her 4-year-old son has been charged with perjury and child abuse.

Kent County prosecutors on Friday, Jan. 26 said Sonja Hernandez, 29, has been charged with perjury in a capital trial for her testimony involving boyfriend Elis Nelson Ortiz-Nieves, 27.

Ortiz-Nieves was convicted of felony murder after a December trial and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole earlier this month.

Prosecutors said he struck 4-year-old Giovanni Mejias in the stomach on June 13 at the Gaines Township mobile home where Ortiz-Nieves lived with Hernandez and other children. The blow caused a fatal injury.

Prosecutors say the child abuse charges filed against Hernandez -- two counts of second-degree child abuse -- are unrelated to the June 13 incident. Hernandez was not in the home when her son was fatally injured.